Former Duke basketball freshman phenom and No. 1 overall 2025 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg dealt with some early efficiency struggles to begin his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, but since head coach Jason Kidd moved Flagg off the point guard position into more of a frontcourt role, the star rookie has been thriving. The Maine native is back as the betting favorite to take home the NBA Rookie of the Year award and clearly looks like a future centerpiece of the Mavericks' organization. However, despite record-setting numbers in the stat sheet, Flagg still isn't satisfied.
The Mavericks came into the 2025-26 season with aspirations for a deep playoff run. However, despite bringing in one of the most hyped up college prospects of the last 20 years into an already complete roster, Dallas has struggled.
Dallas has won five of its last seven games, but still sits at just 10-17 on the campaign, good for 12th place in the Western Conference standings. Flagg has continuously gotten better as the season has gone on, but it still has yet to show in the win column.
Cooper Flagg proves he's the biggest team player after record-setting scoring night
On December 15th against the Utah Jazz, Flagg tallied a career-high 42 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists on 13-of-27 (48.1%) shooting from the field and 15-of-20 (75%) shooting from the free throw line. In the 140-133 overtime loss, Flagg became the first 18-year-old in NBA history to score 40 points in a game. But despite the record night, Dallas' star rookie is still focused on winning.
“It’s tough," Flagg said. "I want to look at it [in] wins and losses. Obviously we didn’t win. It’s tough for me to want to be happy, but obviously it’s a success and we’re going to try to keep getting better from here.”
Cooper Flagg on scoring a career-high 42 points:
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) December 16, 2025
“It’s tough. I want to look at it [in] wins and losses. Obviously we didn’t win. It’s tough for me to want to be happy, but obviously it’s a success and we’re going to try to keep getting better from here.” pic.twitter.com/FW3UB1vQh5
If you're a head coach, there probably aren't many better things to hear than what Flagg said following a career-high scoring night. As the rookie has said all season, he's most concerned about winning, and the Mavericks have had their issues in that regard.
Even with the losses, the individual success that Flagg has had is a fascinating sign for the Mavs' front office. Over his last 11 games, Flagg has tallied 20 or more points six times, including two games of 35 or more points. The 6'9" forward tallied 20 or more points just four times through the first 15 games of his career, with only one contest scoring over 25.
According to FanDuel, Flagg is the heavy favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, with -185 odds. The next man up is fellow Blue Devil Kon Knueppel at +175.